Tuesday, 30 August 2011

Rio de Janeiro, during the XXXI Congress of the International Intellectual Property, organized by the Brazilian Intellectual Property Association (ABPI), INPI presented the new e-marks in version 2.0. The system should be available to the public in October.

This method is said to be much simpler for the user, contributing to a further increase in trade mark applications in 2011 – INPI mentions that it could reach a high record of 150,000 requests, an increase of 15% compared to 2010. One issue that I note is that INPI talks about the future: “the new system will pave the way to organize multiclass applications and co-ownership - requirements to serve on the Madrid Protocol.” Do you get it? Does it mean that they are really going to be a member and follow Colombia?

To cope with so many trade mark applications, INPI will use later this year the Intellectual Property System Automation System (IPAS) developed by the World Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO) to streamline its internal processing.

Monday, 29 August 2011

The University of Buckingham, UK, will be holding a conference on 5 October. This is sponsored by the Centre for Multi-Cultural Studies in Law and the Family, and is a roundtable conference on Indigenous Issues.

OVERVIEW:There are over 300 million Indigenous Peoples in the world today. They are found in every part of the world—from the Saami peoples in Lapland to Indigenous Peoples in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and North and South America. There has been an increasing focus on the international rights of Indigenous Peoples since the 2007 approval of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. As the range of topics for this conference demonstrates, contemporary legal issues on Indigenous Peoples are both old and new. The relationship of Indigenous Peoples with the state, protection of Indigenous rights in expanding global economies, and respect for and the rights in Indigenous heritage are highlighted in the presentations at this conference.

A round-table discussion will follow the speakers’ presentations.
Registration begins at 1 p.m.
Opening of the Conference: 1: 45 p.m.

OPENING OF THE CONFERENCE AND INTRODUCTION: Professor Susan Edwards, Director of the Centre for the Multi-Cultural Studies in Law and the Family.

SPEAKERS: Fiona Batt: “Unbundling the Property/Heritage Rights in the Restitution of Ancient Indigenous Human Remains” University of Bristol
James Roffee: “Aboriginal Australians, Alcohol and Incest: Discourse Analysis of State Responses” University of Leicester
Dr Sarah Sargent: “The Republic of Lakotah: International Legal Personality and Sovereignty after the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples” University of Buckingham
Dr Valentina Vadi: “When Cultures Collide: The Protection of Cultural Landscapes and Indigenous Heritage in International Economic Law” Maastricht University

I will be there! I cannot miss to chat with Fiona Batt -- while ago the IPtango members were intrigued to know more about her project titled: “Ancient Indigenous Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) and Intellectual Property Rights”.
Your attendance at this would be greatly welcome. Please let Dr Sarah Sargent that you are attending.

Lima, will be the place to be if you want to discuss and analyze the protection of traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples. Representatives from 21 economies of the Asia-Pacific Cooperation (APEC) will meet on 1-2 September in the seminar "Successful Experiences in Implementing Tools for the Protection of Traditional Knowledge."

Peru will participate through Instituto Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia y de la Protecction de la Propiedad Intelectual (INDECOPI) explaining the experience that the institution has by promoting the registration of collective knowledge of indigenous people. They do for example prevent the granting of patent for inventions based on traditional knowledge and/or genetic resources. They do mention other types of protection out there such as: the classic systems of intellectual property, “sui generis" protection and preservation through organizations and government/institutions and public-private partnerships, databases and information systems, treaties and conventions.

Representatives will share their experiences from China, Thailand, Mexico, New Zealand, USA, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. In addition, non-member economies of APEC will also participate such as Brazil, India and Panama, who have policies and systems with relevant protection.

Friday, 26 August 2011

Brazilian Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial (INPI) has received another application for a Geographical Indication (IG). On Tuesday, August 23, 2011, INPI received an application that corresponded to ‘biscoitos de São Tiago’, a traditional biscuits from the Region Campo das Vertentes in Minas Gerais. Producers chose the mode indication of source (Indicação de Procedência) which bears out the tradition of a product in a particular region.

The application was filed by the Associação São-Tiaguense, producers of the biscuit, which is formed by 23 members. The business generates around 700 direct jobs and its weekly production is approximately 150 tons. The city is the headquarters of the Festa do Café-com-Biscoit (Coffee and biscuit Party), which annually brings back tradition and attracts local tourists.

INPI makes the note that to prepare the request, the city was aided by the Center for Technological Innovation (NIT) from the Federal University of São João del Rei (UFSJ), which is INPI’s partner. Also this action is supported by the Foundation for Research and Support of Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG).

Surely they can celebrate the party with national products: a Cerrado Mineiro coffee (already a GI in the form of IS and pending a DO) and also some sweets: doces de Pelota served in Goiabeiras pots. If your taste is not that sweet, then try some shrimps: camarões da Costa Negra or some rice Litoral Norte Gaúcho or even better, a steak: Pampa Gaúcho da Campanha Meridional. However if you are not that hungry, then just walk around with a comfy pair of boots: Vale dos Sinos, enjoying a nice glass of wine: Vale dos Vinhedos and/or Pinto Bandeira – perhaps you like something stronger like Paraty. As the weather is sunny we recommend to wear a hat: Jalapão. Certainly we do not want you to be caught in the middle of any riots and see people throwing stones: Região Pedra Carijó-Paduana, Região Pedra Madeira-Paduana and, Região Pedra Cinza-Paduana; but is you are hit by one of them, don’t worry: treat yourself with some Manguezais de Alagoas.

Wednesday, 24 August 2011

On 16 August 2011, the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (STJ) held unanimously against the extension of the patent related to Actos(pioglitazone), a drug used to combat type 2 diabetes. This is another victory for the Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial (INPI) against an international laboratory.

The laboratory was seeking to extend the patent from January 2005 to January 2011 using the mechanism established by Brazilian legislation called pipeline. Through the mechanism, the patent would have a year to be made to INPI and worth the time remaining in the country in which it was first filled without extensions. This is the understanding that the STJ has also held in other cases (check here and here).

This sentence holds special implications to the country where local manufacturers receive significant support from its government. A patent expiration would enable local manufacturers to produce and sell Actos at nearly half the price of the original drug.

The vice-president of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), Minister Felix Fischer, restored the power of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) to grant registration of generic medicines and the like, based on the active ingredient escitalopram (antidepressant).

BackgroundThe judge of first instance had decided that ANVISA refrain from granting registration to a third party not authorized by Lundbeck Brazil Ltda - producer of Lexapro, the reference medical product – to use test results and data of the dossier sent by the company for the registration of the drug.

Also, the court held the invalidity of any drug registration already granted based on this dossier, in particular those obtained by companies Aché Pharmaceutical Laboratories S/A and Biosintética Pharmaceuticals Ltd, which are manufacturers of similar drugs. The judge applied the term of ten years to protect the rights of data exclusivity – in this case due to expire in September 2012.

Final decisionAccording to Minister Fischer, the decision of first instance has a “negative effect of erecting barriers to the participation of manufacturers interested in producing similar or generic drugs”. Therefore, the suspension of the sentence is advisable "in order to avoid the risk of weakening the national policy of generic drugs in the country". To that effect, the Vice-President of the Supreme Court re-establishes the power of ANVISA to register generic antidepressants with the said ingredient.

Note that the Brazilian drug market is governed by technical regulations and is regulated by a National Health Sanitary Surveillance Agency (ANVISA), which is a financially autonomous regulatory agency linked to the Brazilian Ministry of Health under management contract. No drug can be produced, imported, put for sale, or distributed in Brazil without registering with ANVISA.

Monday, 22 August 2011

Last Friday, 19/08/2011, the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) published in the Official Gazette, the ban on the import and use in the country of Levitra 20 mg (a medicine used in the treatment of erectile dysfunction (impotence) ) lot BXB8551 because it is not genuine - counterfeit product. The fraud was discovered during a seizure of imported goods conducted by Anvisa’s team of ports and airports in Sao Paulo.

The real drug is manufactured by Bayer SA, which reported that the original batch was manufactured in 2002 – expiration date 2005.
The seizure is final and is effective immediately after publication of the measure in the Official Gazette.

Our colleagues from orGIn (Organisation for a Geographical Indication Network) have sent IP Tango quite interesting information concerning the International Conference that will be held in Guadalajara (Mexico) on 29-30 September 2011 about the "Lastest Trends on Geographical Indications".

Besides the conferences by prominent speakers such as Francesca Toso (WIPO) or Jose Rodrigo Roque Diaz (IMPI), participants will have the chance to visit Tequila.

Brazil, 15 August, Google Brazil Internet Ltda. brought an appeal to the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (STJ) for having been obliged by a lower court to remove offensive content placed in Orkut - a social network and discussion site operated by Google.

The party affected, a health specialist in Rio Grande do Sul, claimed the removal of all offensive messages and images. It is claimed that the doctor suffered a wave of attacks on the network and he tried to use an existing tool on the site to prevent the transmission of the defamatory messages. The tool, however, did not allow the exclusion of all messages against him. He asked also for compensation for moral and material damage.

Google however claimed that it would be impossible to scan the network for defamatory content against the party affected and thus, claimed that the doctor should have provided the email address of the attackers and indicate the measures to be censored.

The company also argued that if they proceed to remove the content, this would violate the freedom of expression. Moreover, it mentions that there is no legislation requiring Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to exert control of content placed on the Internet.

STJ The Fourth Class of the Supreme Court did not consider the liability of the ISP. It only found that Google is obliged to delete the defamatory content of the pages struck against the victim, even without the provision of accurate email addresses from him.

The rapporteur, Luis Felipe Minister Solomon, considered that the lack of technical tools to correct problems does not exempt the company to seek solutions. "If Google has created an uncontrollable monster, it is only to be charged for any consequences generated by the lack of control users have of its social network," he said. Offensive messages could be captured by programming mechanisms or by a specialized staff, he added.

Yet, the responsibility is not automatic and does not occur at the time the message is posted on the network. The civil liability depends on the conduct, taking into consideration its responsibility and the damage experienced by others.

Thursday, 11 August 2011

The first one is camarões da Costa Negra (Black Coast shrimp) cultivated in artificial ponds in the towns of Acaraú, Itarema and Cross. The GI form sought by the Association of shrimp farmers of the Black Coast (ACCN) was as a Designation of Origin (DO) which will be the second for a national product. The product has features and qualities like high protein content and a sweet taste, due to the geographical environment of the region, including soil and water, and human factors involved in the cultivation technique.

The second is doces de Pelota (sweets of Pelotas), a municipality about 250 km from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. The soil characteristic of the region encourages the planting of fruit trees such as peaches, quinces, among others, used for the production of jams and later for the manufacture of sweets.

From this date both Associations have a period of 60 days to pay the fee required and once comply with, INPI will issue the said certificate.

GI in BrazilBrazil recognises Geographical Indication in two forms: Denomination of Origin (DO) and Indication of Source - DO is more valued because it depends on proof that the product has special characteristics due to geographical and human factors all together.

On August last year, (INPI) granted the first Denomination of Origin to a Brazilian product - granted to ‘Litoral Norte Gaúcho’ for rice.
There are 5 DO pending for other national products: Cerrado Mineiro for coffee and ‘Vale dos Vinhedos’ for wines which enjoy indication of source (IS) already. The other three DO applied for are for stones.

Wednesday, 10 August 2011

Following the trend in recent bilateral agreements around the world, both FTAs include Chapters on Intellectual Property. While they do not include standards as high as those imposed by EU or US in their FTAs, it is interesting to see that they do contain some substantial provisions, in particular the one between Peru and Korea.
The FTA between Costa Rica and China includes specific provisions on generic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore and on geographical indications apart from general obligations to comply with TRIPS and Doha Declaration on Public Health, and on technical cooperation. There is a provision on border measures as well.
The FTA between Peru and Korea provides for similar obligations in these same fields, but it also include provisions on copyrights and related rights and extended provisions on enforcement.

These treaties are just another manifestation of the increasing relevance of trade relations between Asia-Pacific and Latin American countries. It would be interested to see the effects on the international protection of IPR of the regulation of trade relations among them. In this sense other important negotiations to follow are those of the Transpacific Partnership Agreement or TPP. Here is a good article on that in Spanish.